Two Roads Diverged
by The Hog of Hedges
Summary: A completed fic using poems by Robert Frost, with my TLW interpretation. Major NV shippage.
1. The Road Not Taken: Malone

**_Two Roads Diverged_**

_Two roads diverged in a yellow wood_

_And sorry I could not travel both_

_And be one traveler, long I stood_

_And look down both as far I could_

_To where it bent in the undergrowth;_

'Why am I here? What am I doing here? I can't keep these thoughts out of my head. Ever since we escaped from that caldera, I've wondered what my future held. I had thought that it was with Veronica. Then I met Aleece. Everything snowballed from there. Veronica said she didn't love me, Aleece was murdered, and to top it all of, Veronica **and the balloon were lost. Then, since that incident with the poison, I don't know what to think anymore. I have to sort everything out. I can't let Haskell's sacrifice be in vain. I can't let them have saved me for this, a life of watching and waiting, never taking my chance. I have two choices; to continue my life as it is now, or to take charge of my destiny, set out on my own. I have to choose.'**

_Then took the other, as just as fair_

_And perhaps having a better claim_

_Because it was grassy and wanted wear;_

"I can't believe he left us. What could have possessed him to do that?"

"We found this in his room, Marguerite. That page was open. It was as if he had put it there for us to find it."

"In all probability, Roxton, he was working on it right before he left."

"No, he's more organized than that. Whenever I stole- I mean looked at them before, they had always been closed. No, this was deliberate. He wanted us to know what he was feeling."

"That probably **is the only way he could express his inner workings."**

_Though as for the passing there_

_Had worn them both the same,_

_And in the morning equally lay_

_In leaves no step had trodden black._

"Tol'ra ho maho nae, Tonamalohn?" *Have you enjoyed your stay, Mr. Malone?*

"Uh, pliareesae te- uh, te… te'homaha. Pliareesae te'homaha, Tchohepalhean." *It has been pleasurable, Elder Palhean.*

Another voice interrupted the two friends' parting scene.

"Tonamalohn! Leaving now, you are not, are you? Without telling goodbye to me?"

"Uh, Semilae. I uh, well, uh, have to go now. I, uh, something's come up."

"Can I come, too?"

"No, it's of a personal nature."

"But we have not been alone together yet."

"Um, well, maybe next time."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know. Maybe never."

"But-"

"Good-bye, Semi!"

_Oh, I kept the first for another day!_

_Yet knowing how way comes to way,_

_I doubted if I should ever come back._

*I'll never be back. I never stay in one place too long, haven't they figured that out by now? Not since I left. It's just another point on Challenger's map. But, what if I had never left? How might I have changed? Is she back yet? Oh, well. Gotta find a new supply village now.*

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"He's been gone for five months, Veronica. He isn't coming back."

Veronica turned away from the balcony she stood at; where she and Malone had shared their presences several times. Every day she stood there, staring out at the jungle.

"I can't believe you've given up hope already."

"Veronica, you don't even know if he's still **alive. He could have been killed by raptors, or headhunters, or one of Challenger's 'shifting planes of reality'."**

"How can you say that?! He's still alive, I can feel it!"

"Veronica, if he wanted to come back, he would have."

"What do you mean?"

"It's time we showed you something."

'Why am I here? What am I doing here? I can't keep these thoughts out of my head. Ever since we escaped from that caldera, I've wondered what my future held. I had thought that it was with Veronica. Then I met Aleece. Everything snowballed from there. Veronica said she didn't love me, Aleece was murdered, and to top it all of, Veronica **and the balloon were lost. Then, since that incident with the poison, I don't know what to think anymore. I have to sort everything out. I can't let Haskell's sacrifice be in vain. I can't let them have saved me for this, a life of watching and waiting, never taking my chance. I have two choices; to continue my life as it is now, or to take charge of my destiny, set out on my own. I have to choose.'**

'I'm leaving. I can't be here when Veronica gets back. If she ever does. I just have too much stuff to sort out, and frankly, her being here will bring up bad feelings. Marguerite, Roxton, Challenger, I know you're going to read this. I want you to know that you are the best family a man could ever hope to have. And Veronica, if you ever read this, I want you to know something. I love you. I always will.'

_I shall be telling this with a sigh_

_Somewhere ages and ages since:_

_Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-_

_I took the one less traveled by,_

_And that has made all the difference._


	2. A Late Walk: Veronica

**_A Late Walk_**

**__**

**__**

**_Author's Note: This is about Veronica. The poem is Frost's __'A Late Walk'._**

_When I go up through the mowing field,_

_The headless aftermath,_

_Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,_

_Half closes the garden path._

*I can't stop thinking about what he wrote. He said he loved me, yet he leaves because he doesn't want to be with me. I am **so confused. Why do I have so much bad luck when it comes to men and love in general? First my parents disappear, then Malone arrives and starts making my feelings go out of whack. After that there was that imposter, Malone left, and then Ducart. Why can't I find someone kind, and sweet, and generous? Someone like Ned…***

_And when I come to the garden ground,_

_The whir of sober birds_

_Up from the tangle of withered weeds_

_Is sadder than any words_

Veronica walked to the garden, tending to the plants that would be used for the night's dinner. She began pulling weeds out but stopped when she heard a shrill screech. A raptor was calling out as it hunted its prey. Veronica looked up at the sky, noticing that the noble bird was above her somewhat. It was an osprey, not an eagle like she had thought. She followed it with her eyes as it swooped down towards it's prey.

*It's funny; the littlest things remind me of Ned. Maybe it's because of the time that amulet turned him into a hawk, or maybe it's because he flew away, never to be seen again. At least, not to be seen by me.*

_A tree beside the wall lays bare,_

_But a leaf that lingered brown,_

_Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,_

_Comes softly rattling down_

As she walked back through the electric fence she noted that some of the trees were becoming bare. She was reminded of the time that fortune teller foretold all of those things. How she would become a tree, how Ned,

*How Ned would have the heart ripped out of his chest. God, I was worried. Then he knocked me out to 'save me'. Nice gesture, but wasted. I ended up saving him. And then promptly knocked him out. He's like a leaf, he can withstand only so much wind, and when he's taken too much, he's gone forever.*

A single leaf floated down from a newly-bare tree.

_I end not far from my going forth_

_By picking the faded blue_

_Of the last remaining aster flowers_

_To carry again to you._

Veronica was so absorbed in her musings that she didn't notice a figure standing in the forested area behind her. The man bent down and picked a small periwinkle flower from the ground. As a gentle west wind blew by, he loosed his fingers, letting the blossom fly towards her subdued form.

"Someday, my walk will be over. But it's getting late. Rest soon, and don't worry. We'll walk together again someday.

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**_End Note: __A Late Walk belongs to Robert Frost. Merry Christmas, everybody._**


	3. Bond and Free: Ned and Veronica

**_Bond and Free_**

_Love has earth to which she clings_

_With hills and circling arms about-_

_Wall within wall to shut out._

_But Thought has need of no such things,_

_For Thought has a pair of dauntless wings._

"Challenger, why are we re-mapping the valley? And why not from that taller hill over there?"

"Finn, maybe we should leave Challenger alone. C'mon, I'll take you down to the lake."

"But what about Challenger-"

"I'll be fine, Finn, you go with Veronica," the scientist said quickly, hoping for some peace and quiet.

"Ohhhhkaaay," said Finn dejectedly.

They walk through the familiar woods down to the familiar pond, just as they had so many times before. They are so absorbed in the ennui that they don't notice the mimic vine that they walked under. It whistled at Finn, who stopped momentarily. Veronica's eyes grow bigger in horror as she remembers the sound, "FINN! DON'T STOP!" She whirls around at Finn's scream to see that the carnivorous plant has already taken her in its death grip, her crossbow lying disused on the ground.

26 miles away, Ned Malone finishes his raptor meat and pear lunch and continues on his journey

_On sand and snow and turf, I see_

_Where Love has left a printed trace_

_With straining in the world's embrace_

_And such is Love and glad to be._

_But Thought has shaken his ankles free._

Veronica and Finn are playing in the pond, splashing water and chasing each other. The mood is shattered when Finn notices an odd carving in a tree. It is a large 'V' with two vertical lines extending downwards from either side of it.

"What's that V?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

23 miles away, Malone trips on a tree root, his feet entangled. A young hunter comes across him and carries him back to the village.

_Thought cleaves the interstellar gloom_

_And sits in Sirius' disc all night,_

_Till day makes him retrace his flight,_

_With smell of burning on every plume,_

_Back past the sun to an earthly room._

"So you're Malone," said the young man, holding a unique staff.

"And you must be Gideon. And **that must be the Star of Hope."**

"Yes it is. Please, come to the circle; we're telling stories and from what I've heard, you have some good ones."

Ned captivated the younger hunters, who apparently were on an extended journey. They were seeking the annual Tentosaur migration. They talked through out the night, and those who had to sleep did so reluctantly until Malone went to sleep. When he awoke, he silently set out towards the Treehouse, trying to return after all those months away.

_His gains in heaven are what they are,_

_Yet some say Love by being thrall_

_And simply staying possesses all_

_In several beauty that Thought fares far_

_To find fused in another star._

Distance from Treehouse: One mile. Ned locates Veronica and another young woman swimming in the pond, just as they had the day before, of which he has no knowledge. He looks on at them for minutes upon minutes before moving on. Suddenly a thought hits him.

*Veronica has a sister!?*

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**_End Note: Third chapter is finished. The next one will be my last, unless I can either A) Find another RF poem for N/V, or B) I get people threatening to kill me if I don't continue._**


	4. Reluctance: Malone Returns

**_Reluctance_**

_Out through the fields and the woods_

_            And over the walls I have wended;_

_I have climbed the hills of view_

_            And looked at the world and descended;_

_I have come the highway home,_

_            And lo, it is ended._

_The leaves are all dead on the ground,_

_            Save those that the oak is keeping_

_To ravel them one by one_

_            And let them go scraping and creeping_

_Out over the crusted snow_

_            When others are sleeping_

_And the dead leaves lie huddles and still,_

_            No longer blown hither and thither;_

_The last lone aster is gone;_

_            The flowers of the witch-hazel wither;_

_The heart is aching to seek,_

_            But the feet question 'Whither'_

_Ah when to the heart of man_

_            Was it ever less than treason_

_To go with the drift of things,_

_            To yield with a grace to reason,_

_And bow and accept the end_

_            The end of a love or a season?_

Slow quiet footsteps crunch the leaves of the Treehouse 'yard' at night. The walker looks for the elevator, but alas, the occupants had remembered that Marguerite and Roxton would be gone for another day. He stands there silently, then, allowing himself to say "What the hell?" quietly, shrugs and climbs the vine rope attached to the lift. He reaches the bottom of the elevator and unlatches the emergency trap-door. He pulls himself up and walks over to the chairs in the sitting room of the Treehouse. He looks at Veronica and strokes her jaw, smiling. She stirs, her face contorting into a pleasured smile and her arms wrap around herself more. In her hands is a dying blue flower that she found not so long ago. Suddenly a shot rings out. The man's crumpled form hits the ground and spills blood over the fur and hide rugs. Veronica awakes with a scream, as do Challenger and Finn. 

As the body falls, it reveals Malone standing behind him somewhat slanted, the right side of his body slightly in front of his left. He is holding his revolver in one hand and a fairly large knife in the other. He drops the knife and steps over the bloody body of Niko to reach Veronica. He pulls her in a firm embrace as she starts to cry. She puts her head on his shoulder as he motions for Challenger and Finn to stay back.

"There's no need to cry. Everything's all right, it'll be okay."

"God, I was so worried about you. Why did you go? Why did you leave me like that?"

"There were some things I had to figure out on my own. But I'm back now. I'll never leave you again, I promise."

"Never?"

"Nothing on this world or in any of Challenger's shifting planes of reality could keep me away from you. I love you."

Veronica breaks out into tears again and says, "I love you too, Ned."

Challenger pulls Finn away saying, "We should get some rest now."

"But who is that guy, Challenger?"

"A very good, very old friend. He's finally found himself, and us in the process."

Malone and Veronica sit down in a chair while Challenger and Finn walk off.

"Ned, I have so many questions! Where did you go, who all did you see?"

"Well, it'll take a while to explain that. But I have a question for you?"

"What is it?"

"Since when do you have a sister?"

Veronica breaks out into laughter and Malone sits there in confusion.

*Well, I'm home now. So I guess I can deal with all these surprises.*

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**_End Note: It is complete. It took me about a month but I finally finished. I hope you like it as much as I liked writing it. _**


End file.
